Nokia has a great smartphone in their Lumia 1020 with its 41MP camera. As well as the megapixels, Nokia also includes numerous features that come together to create a superb experience when snapping those special moments.The company is now looking to bring in RAW image format support.
This will be a first for smartphones, according to a blog post over on Nokia Conversations. The Lumia 1520 (and Lumia 1020 in time) will be able to save photos in lossless DNG (Digital Negative) format. But what does this mean for the average consumer and enthusiast? What's the difference between DNG and JPEG (the latter is currently used for saving images)?
RAW format essentially enables you to work with the images and develop them post-capture. When saving in JPEG format, the smartphone carries out the processing to enable you to save and share the end results on social media and more.
With the Lumia 1020, Nokia does quite a bit of post processing on the image for the perfect result for sharing, but this results in quite a bit of noise as you can see the following comparison
 |
Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Nokia 808 Pureview - Oversampling Comparison The Nokia Lumia 1020, much like its predecessor the Nokia 808 PureView, uses its large sensor with its high pixel count to capture very detailed pictures. It users a technology Nokia refers to as pixel oversampling, where information from multiple pixels are pulled onto the sensor to produce 'perfect' pixels in a lower resolution output image. |
With the RAW files, Nokia will allow you to define the likes of noise filtering, tone mapping and sharpening on a PC.
This is quite the advancement as not even point-and-shoot cameras support the format.
What's more is you'll be able to fine tune settings and achieve some interesting effects. There's also some future proofing with RAW. Algorithms may alter in the future, enabling you to revisit photos captured with the Lumia Windows Phones to work with advanced technology. The Lumia 1520, Lumia 1020 will have the setting turned off by default, just in case you're not wanting it.
 |
| Captured using a Nokia Lumia 1020 |
So if you are an average user, who doesn't want to edit their photos further, your photos will continue to save in the JPEG format. However, should you wish to go advance, the RAW DNG format comes alongside a 5MP oversampled image. You have the high quality JPEG for sharing and RAW image files for USB transfer and PC processing.
source - Nokia Conversations